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An American Family History

Deacon Nathan Fiske

Early European settlers in the American colonies were mostly farmers and craftsmen. They had to work hard to provide daily neccesities for themselves.

Alcohol played a significant role in the daily lives of colonists; even children. They feared polluted water and believed in alcohol's nourishing and medicinal properties.

Deacon Nathan Fiske was born on January 3, 1672/73 in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He was the son of Lieutenant Nathan Fiske and Elizabeth Fry.   He was a selectman, town clerk, town treasurer, representative, and deacon in Watertown.

He married Sarah Coolidge on October 14, 1696 in Watertown. Sarah was born on June 27, 1680. She was the daughter of Ensign John Coolidge and Mary Wellington.

Nathan and Sarah's children included:
Sarah Fiske (November 4, 1698),
Elizabeth Fiske,
Nathan Fiske (February 25, 1701/02, married Ann Warren and Mary Fiske),
Josiah Fiske (October 10, 1704, married Sarah Lawrence),
Henry Fiske (Janaury 24, 1706/07, married Mary Stone),
Daniel Fiske (August 19, 1709, married Deliverance Brown and Jemima Shaw),
Samuel Fiske (February 16, 1711/12, married Lydia Bond),
Grace Fiske Goddard (May 9, 1714, married Benjamin Goddard) and
Hannah Fiske Smith (May 19, 1719, married William J. Smith, Jr.).

Sarah died on November 27, 1723.

On May 22, 1729 Nathan married Sarah's cousin, Hannah Coolidge Smith, the widow of Daniel Smith, Jr. and the daughter of Simon Coolidge and Hannah Barron. Hannah was born on December 7, 1671.

Nathan died on January 26, 1741. He is buried in the Old Burying Ground in Watertown (Arlington Street Burying Ground). Hannah died in October, 1750.

Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.

Deacons played a respected and important role in early New England churches. They sat in a raised pew near the pulpit and had special duties during communion.

Children of
Lieutenant Nathan Fiske
& Elizabeth Fry

  • Nathan Fiske
  • Elizabeth Fiske Ball
  • Martha Fiske Parks
  • Deacon Nathan Fiske
  • Susannah Fiske
  • Abigail Fiske Mixer
  • William Fiske
  • William Fiske
  • Anna Fiske
  • The town clerk was one of the first offices in colonial America. The clerk recorded births, marriages, and deaths.

    The New England Meetinghouse was the only municipal building in a town. Both worship and civil meetings were held there. It was customary for men and women to sit separately and the town chose a committee once a year to assign seats according to what was paid, age, and dignity.
     

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    The History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735-1914 by Charles Henry Chandler and Sarah Fiske Lee

    Nathan [Fiske] (Nathan1, Nathan1), b. Jan. 3, 1672; d. Jan. 26, 1741;
    m. (1) Oct. 14, 1696, Sarah, dau. of Ensign John Coolidge [d. Nov. 27, 1723];
    (2) Hannah, dau. of Simon Coolidge and widow of Daniel Smith, Jr. [b. Dec 7, 1671;
    d. Oct. 4, 1750]. He was a selectman at Watertown for several years, also town clerk, town treasurer, and representative He was a deacon.

     
     
     
     

    Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts by William Richard Cutter

    (III) Nathan Fiske, son of Lieutenant Nathan and Elizabeth (Fry) Fiske, and familiarly known as Deacon Nathan, was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, January 3, 1673. He married (first) Sarah [Coolidge] (1678-1723), daughter of Ensign John Coolidge. of Watertown, and (second) on May 22, 1729, Hannah Coolidge Smith, daughter of Simon Coolidge, and widow of Daniel Smith, Jr. He was made a deacon of the church at Watertown before 1717. He died January 26, 1741, and his wife Hannah died in October, 1750.

    The children of Deacon Nathan and Sarah (Coolidge) Fiske were:
    Sarah, born 1697, died 1713;
    Elizabeth, died young;
    Nathan, born February 25, 1701, married (first) Anne Warren, and as his second wife Mary Fiske, of Sudbury;
    Josiah, born October 10, 1704, married Sarah, daughter of John and Anne (Tarbell) Lawrence, of Lexington;
    Henry, born January 24, 1706, married Mary Stone;
    Daniel, born August 19, 1709, married (first) Deliverance Brown, and (second) Jemima Shaw;
    Samuel, born February 16, 1711, married Lydia Bond;
    Grace, born May 9, 1714, married Benjamin Goddard, of Shrewsbury;
    Hannah, born May 19, 1719, married William J. Smith, Jr., of Weston, died September 2, 1813.

     
     
     

    Connecticut's first European settlers were Dutch.

    from Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania: Genealogical, Volume 3

    William Fiske, son of Lieutenant Nathan and Elizabeth (Fry) Fiske, was born at Watertown, Massachusetts, November 10, 1678.

    He married, at Framingham, Massachusetts, November 3, I708, Eunice Jennings, born 1686, daughter of Stephen and Hannah (Stanhope) Jennings, and in 1715 removed with his family to Willington, Connecticut, where William Fiske died, November 8, 1750.

    His widow, Eunice, married (second) January 3, 1754, William Johnson.

     
     
     
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    ©Roberta Tuller 2023
    tuller.roberta@gmail.com
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